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EXCLUSIVE: Kathy Griffin on Sexism in Hollywood and Why She Supports Kesha and Hillary Clinton

By James Patrick Herman 10:50 AM PST, March 1, 2016

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One of the most
exclusive celebrity events of Oscars weekend took place far away from
Hollywood. In fact, it was held on a ship docked in Cozumel, Mexico.

Kathy Griffin, who
is currently in the middle of an 80-city tour, became the first stand-up comic
ever to entertain aboard Carnival Cruise Line to the amusement of approximately
850 guests. Before her show on the high seas, ETonline sat down with the award-winning
comedian, actress, author and self-described “feminist icon” for an extensive
chat about Hillary Clinton, Kesha, and sexism in the industry.

Kathy Griffin: I
am so proud to be [Carnival’s] first comic, and I’m a chick! How about that?
Sexism and ageism is very much alive in the world of female comedy, and I love
that I am the first comic who is doing this because it actually means
something. That is why I fought to get in the Guinness Book of World Records --
because I actually did write and perform more television stand-up specials than
any comedian, male or female, living or dead.

Tell me more about
sexism and ageism in contemporary comedy.

Let me put it this way. I am doing 80 cities this year. I love
it, but when you are a 55-year-old female, you don’t have choices. Look at my
male counterparts. I mean, Kevin James? He is juggling offers. He’s like, “Oh,
should I do Mall Cop 17 and make another billion dollars?” But when you are a
chick comic, and you’re 55, you are hoofing, baby. I am all about trying to
jump higher and work harder -- that’s something I learned from the great Joan
Rivers, and it also has been pounded into me since I was a kid by my mom and
dad. Luckily, I have what I call stand-up comedy disorder, which is that I can’t
seem to stop doing it. And I enjoy performing on a boat one day, and Carnegie
Hall the next, and then, you know, Parkersburg, West Virginia. Every audience
is different.

Joan Rivers must be
looking down from heaven and smiling. What is the most challenging aspect of
doing a gig on a cruise?

I have to take the audience’s temperature right away, so I
have an opening reel that I start with. By the way, I totally stole this idea
from Cher and she knows it. When I would see one of Cher’s many farewell tours
-- because she won’t stop saying goodbye -- I noticed that she opens her show
with a little [video] retrospective. Not that Cher’s fans need to be reminded
of her body of work, but mine do. Like I said, "I’m going to West Virginia." So
if there’s a woman who dragged her heterosexual husband, he is going to be
like, “Is she the chick from Seinfeld?”
That’s all he knows. He doesn’t know about the Emmys and the GRAMMY. So I have
decided to put together a series of funny little clips, and I can usually tell
by the reaction to that what people are into. But I will try everything at
first. I’ll see if they’re into political stuff. Some audiences just want to
hear stories about my mom. Others want to hear all about the Kardashians. Most
want to hear about my personal run-ins. Recently, I had a run-in with Leo
DiCaprio.

Oh, it did not go his way. But he took it very well. And he
admitted to being a douchebag.

Really? Give us the
background, please.

It was a big win for me. See? This is what I am doing as a
feminist icon. I was able to get Leo DiCaprio -- who has banged God only knows
how many models -- to admit that to me in front of Lily Tomlin, who was my
wingman for the night [at the Directors Guild of America Awards]. Lily brings
out the naughty in me. Leo passed by us and I said, “Leo! Say hi to the great
Lily Tomlin.” He ignored me. So I just screamed at him. And then he finally saw
Lily. He put his phone aside and he was like, “Oh, hello, nice to meet you.” And
I go, “What are you being a douchebag for?” And he says, “I am kind of a
douchebag.”

Is it true that you
have also been hanging out with Lily’s Grace
and Frankie costar, Jane Fonda?

I am in negotiations with Jane Fonda. Jane said that she was
jealous of J.Law’s relationship with Amy Schumer, and I was furious with Jane.
So I fired off an email and I go, “What are you doing saying things like that?
You and I are supposed to be those people. And here’s the good news: You get to
be Jennifer f**king Lawrence! So stop fighting the obvious.” And then I
actually saw Jane that night and we were laughing about it. So yes, I am
looking for my Jennifer Lawrence, who is not Jennifer Lawrence, because she’s
taken.

I am wondering how
you feel about the Kesha scandal, and if you support her struggle for
independence.

Look, I didn’t know that people were handing out $250,000
checks -- God love Taylor Swift. But I came home that night and texted Kesha. I
was just like, “Look, what you did is so brave.” She is so smart -- she went to
Columbia -- and she is so talented. I know her to be a very hard worker. From
my understanding, when Kesha tours with another headliner, she gets paid less,
and she doesn’t even have the same amenities. She is a special person and a
unique voice, and I definitely support her.

As a female comic, do
you relate to Kesha’s situation and the reality of being pressured by men in
the entertainment industry?

Of course, I identify with her. Also, I know what it is like to go up against
those big honchos. And when it’s a dude? A powerful dude that everybody else is
afraid of? I don’t want to say it’s a [Bill] Cosby situation, but it is a
little bit like that. Now that all of these women have come forward with Cosby,
you go, “Well, hello! Don’t you get it?” So yes, there is a tape of Kesha
saying that [her producer, Dr. Luke] didn’t roofie her -- and that doesn’t
matter. She was under contract to him. Probably scared to death of him. That is
what people don’t understand about this particular kind of intimidation. And my
other feeling is that I don’t think Kesha would go through all that it takes to
get that kind of a case to trial if she was lying. I am not the judge and the
jury, but this is obviously not fun for her.

I love it. I will be quoting it. Sometimes I get Kanye andDonald Trump mixed up because their Twitter feeds are really similar. I think
he would be an amazing running mate. I could see a Trump-West ticket. Also, I
have to be honest, I am not quite buying Kanye’s story that he called up Taylor
Swift and said, “Oh, I ran this lyric by my wife -- a line that says I might
have sex with you -- and she’s all for it.” And when Kanye said that to
Tay-Tay, she just went, “Oooooh!” If you saw the [viral video] tape, that is
what [Kanye] said. Like a lunatic. He was ranting at [LA club] 1Oak instead of
going home to his kids, and I thought, his
story frankly has holes in it. But I watched every minute of it. I love a
good Vice President Kanye rant.

Well, I hope Hillary Clinton is in a war room 24/7. Because
when you think about her head-to-head with Barack Obama, here is a highly
intellectual guy, and Hillary does very well in that situation. But when you
put her next to basically Kanye West-meets-Sean Hannity? I am fearful that
Donald Trump is going to speak over her. I feel that people in this country
have a real issue with a female president.

I don’t care. I would think that Camp Hillary is, you know,
manning up. She is going to have to do whatever it takes to get elected. But
what I want for Hillary is to do some kind of a Jedi mind trick where she has to
realize, you are now going to be sitting
down with this racist bigot reality star who has a lot of support. So I
want Hillary to be prepared for the ageism and sexism that she is going to
face. I am going to say what a lot of women won’t, which is that’s the big
problem people have with Hillary. Also, when you are in the game this long, you
get a little dirty. Ask me!

But for the record, you are supporting Hillary because you believe in her -- not because you’re
getting paid?

Because she’s whip-smart. She has met every head of state.
And, by the way, you have to go places when you’re the president. She’s been
everywhere, all right? Donald Trump can be the president of 56th and 5th. Do
you think he knows the capital of Pakistan? He knows one word: Benghazi! Can he
find it on a map? I doubt it. So I am always for the smartest person. I was an
Al Gore fan because I just thought he was smart. And I remember when the
argument was, “Yeah, but Al’s so nerdy. I would rather vote for a guy you could
go have a beer with.” Hello! Iraq War! And I say that as someone who has
performed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Donald Trump has not been to either place.
And there goes half my ticket sales! Sh*t! Well, I couldn’t pull back, as you
could tell.